Airborne contaminant abatement systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an airborne contaminant abatement apparatus comprising an air mover having an air mover inlet and an air mover outlet and configured to create an airflow when operating; a filter disposed in fluid communication with the airflow and configured to remove airborne contaminants therefrom; a supply air passage disposed in fluid communication with the air mover outlet and a vent; the vent disposed along at least a portion of a boundary of a plurality of spaces to be occupied, wherein the vent is configured to accelerate the airflow passing therethrough to create an air curtain extending from the boundary; a return air passage configured to receive the airflow at a return port and direct the airflow to the air mover inlet.

BACKGROUND

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of ventilation. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to configurations ofventilation systems for abating airborne contaminants.

Despite vaccination availability worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemiccontinues to ravage communities where vaccination rates are low. Meansfor preventing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 remainrelevant as it is clear that some portion of every country's populationwill refuse inoculation. In addition to viruses, other contaminants suchas particulate matter, smells, chemical pollutants (e.g., formaldehyde,asbestos, lead, nitrogen dioxide, pesticides, volatile organiccompounds, and the like), and even carbon dioxide levels can haveadverse effects on people. As urbanization continues to drive peopleinto closer interactions, systems capable of providing people with freshair offer benefits for preventing airborne contamination. Accordingly,there remains a need in the art for systems and methods cable of abatingairborne contamination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is a method of abating airborne contamination comprising:operating an air mover of a ventilation apparatus to create an airflowthrough the ventilation apparatus; filtering an airborne contaminantfrom the airflow in the ventilation apparatus; directing the airflow toa boundary of a plurality of spaces through a supply air passage and afluidly connected vent; accelerating the airflow through the vent tocreate an air curtain at the boundary between two or more of theplurality of spaces; receiving the airflow at a return port fluidlyconnected to the air mover by a return air passage; and directing theairflow through the return air passage to an inlet of the air mover.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising monitoring one or more spaces of theplurality of spaces for a presence of an animal and selectivelyoperating the air mover when the presence of the animal is detected inthe one or more spaces.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising selectively directing the airflow to oneor more boundaries of the one or more spaces where the presence of theanimal is detected.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the animal is a human.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising directing the air curtain upward from thevent to the return port.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising directing the air curtain downward fromvent to the return port.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising entraining in the air curtain airbornecontaminants generated by an occupant of the space.

Also disclosed is an airborne contaminant abatement apparatuscomprising: an air mover having an air mover inlet and an air moveroutlet and configured to create an airflow when operating; a filterdisposed in fluid communication with the airflow and configured toremove airborne contaminants therefrom; a supply air passage disposed influid communication with the air mover outlet and a vent; the ventdisposed along at least a portion of a boundary of a plurality of spacesto be occupied, wherein the vent is configured to accelerate the airflowpassing therethrough to create an air curtain extending from theboundary; a return air passage configured to receive the airflow at areturn port and direct the airflow to the air mover inlet.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the boundary at least partially surrounds at leastone of the plurality of spaces.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the air supply passage and the vent define a topcover of a wall of a cubicle, a retainer of the top cover of the wall ofthe cubicle, or both.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the air supply passage defines a retainer of a topcover of a wall of a cubicle, and the vent defines a top cover of thewall of the cubicle.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the return port is disposed centrally within a spaceof the plurality of spaces.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the vent is vertically aligned with the return port.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the vent comprises a plurality of vent openingsconfigured to divide the airflow into two or more adjacent air curtains.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, wherein the two or more adjacent air curtains extend parallelto one another.

Also disclosed is a method of configuring a space for temporaryoccupancy comprising: providing a ventilation device in fluidcommunication with a space to be occupied, wherein the ventilationdevice comprises a contaminant filter for filtering contaminants from anairflow passing therethrough; disposing a vent at least partially alonga border of the space to be occupied; arranging an air supply passage influid communication with an air outlet of the ventilation device and thevent; disposing a return port a distance away from the vent, wherein thereturn port is configured for receiving the airflow from the vent;arranging a return air passage in fluid communication with the returnport and with an air inlet of the ventilation device; and operating theventilation device to create an air curtain from the airflow, whereinthe air curtain extends between the vent and the return port along atleast a portion of the boundary.

In addition to one or more of the above disclosed aspects or as analternate, further comprising detecting a presence of an occupant in thespace to be occupied and selectively operating the ventilation devicewhen the presence of the occupant in the space to be occupied isdetected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way.With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numberedalike:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a contaminant abatement apparatusconfigured for cubicle installation.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a contaminant abatement apparatusconfigured for hallway installation.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a contaminant abatement apparatusconfigured for interaction between adjacently situated people.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a contaminant abatement apparatusconfigured for cubicle installation where the return ports are notvertically aligned with the vents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosedapparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification andnot limitation with reference to the Figures.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an airborne contaminant abatementapparatus 100 having a ventilation device 110, an air supply passage120, a vent 130, return port 150, and return air passage 160. Thecontaminant abatement apparatus 100 can be configured for operation in acubicle section 220 of a building to provide an air curtain 200 betweenoccupants of the cubicles while they are working. The air curtain 200can provide a contaminant barrier between adjacent cubicles isolatingoccupants from exhaled contaminants of their co-workers.

The air curtain 200 can be configured to deflect or capture airbornecontaminants exhaled by occupants of the adjacent space. When deflectedthe airborne contaminant can be pushed away from the air curtain 200while when captured the airborne contaminant can be entrained in the aircurtain 200 becoming part of the fluid stream. Entrained contaminantscan be filtered from the airstream in the ventilation device 110 usingany suitable filtering technology. For example, the ventilation device110 can use a mechanical filtering (e.g., high efficiency particlearrestance (HEPA) filter), chemical filtering (e.g., oxidation,irradiation), electrical filtering (e.g., with ionizers, electrostaticprecipitators, and the like), or a combination thereof to filtercontaminants from the airstream before it is returned to the vent 130.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the airborne contaminant abatementapparatus 100 having a ventilation device 110, an air supply passage120, a vent 130, return port 150, and return air passage 160. Thecontaminant abatement apparatus 100 can be configured for operation in ahorizontal fashion such as when people 10 (or animals) are queued in aline, such as waiting to enter a building or a space therein. Theexhaled breath 15 of the people 10 can be entrained in the air curtain200 and returned to the ventilation device 110 for purification.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the airborne contaminant abatementapparatus 100 having a ventilation device 110, an air supply passage120, a vent 130, return port 150, and return air passage 160. Thecontaminant abatement apparatus 100 can be configured for operationbetween people 10 to prevent airborne contaminants from passing from oneperson to another and posing an infection risk. Air exhaled from nearbyor adjacently situated people 10 can be entrained in the air curtain 200or deflected away from the air curtain 200 to prevent passing ofcontaminants between the adjacent spaces.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an airborne contaminant abatementapparatus 100 having a ventilation device 110, an air supply passage120, a vent 130, return port 150, and return air passage 160. Thecontaminant abatement apparatus 100 can be configured for operation in acubicle section 220 of a building to provide an air curtain 200 betweenoccupants of the cubicles while they are working. The air curtain 200can provide a contaminant barrier between adjacent cubicles isolatingoccupants from exhaled contaminants of their co-workers and/or other airquality concerns. The contaminant abatement apparatus 100 can beconfigured such that the vents 130 define at least a portion of aperimeter of one or more co-located work areas and the return ports 150are arranged more centrally within each space. Such a configuration cancreate angled air curtains 200 (e.g., not vertically aligned with thevents 130) that extend into the space defined by the perimeter of theone or more co-located work areas. In an example, a return port 150 caninclude a centrally located port that draws air from vents located alongtwo or more perimeters of a work area disposed in plurality of workareas (e.g., co-located work area).

The ventilation device 110 can include any device capable of taking anairstream into a return air passage 160, filtering airborne contaminantsfrom the airstream, and returning the cleaned airstream to an air supplypassage 120. For example, the ventilation device 110 can include a“stand alone” air purifier (e.g., an air scrubber, a negative airmachine, a combination thereof, or the like), a ducted air purificationsystem, or a combination of the two. A “stand alone” air purifier systemcan include an air inlet, an air outlet, an air mover, and a filter,where the air mover is configured to urge an airflow from the air inletthrough the filter to the air outlet to provide cleaned air. A ductedair purification system can include a central heating ventilation, andair conditioning (HVAC) system having air purification functionalitybuilt into the system. For example, a central HVAC system disposed in abuilding can include a plurality of air ducts fluidly connecting one ormore spaces to be conditioned within the building to an air handlerhaving air purification functionality. The central HVAC system can beconfigured for environmentally conditioning the one or more spacesfluidly connected to the air handler within the building through a vent130 located in fluid communication with the one or more spaces.

An air mover inlet of the ventilation device 110 can be disposed influid communication with the return air passage 160 and the air moveroutlet of the ventilation device 110 can be disposed in fluidcommunication with the air supply passage 130. The air mover can includeany suitable device for urging an airflow through the ventilation device110. For example, the air mover can include a centrifugal fan, axialfan, mixed flow fan, single stage or multistage blower, positivedisplacement blower (e.g., rotary lobe, claw pump), centrifugal blower,rotary vane blower, water ring pump, or the like.

The contaminant abatement apparatus 100 can optionally include one ormore booster fans or blowers disposed in fluid communication with theair supply passage 120 to increase the velocity of air flowing throughthe vent 130. For example, an inline fan 125 can be used to increase thevelocity of air flowing through vents 130 a and 130 b.

The contaminant abatement apparatus 100 can be configured for up-flow,down-flow, or dual up/down-flow configurations of the air curtain 200.For example, the vent 130 can be positioned at the ceiling and orientedto direct the air curtain 200 downward toward the return port 150positioned in the floor (e.g., or the top of a barrier such as a cubiclewall). Alternatively, the vent 130 can be positioned at a low point,such as the floor, or the top of a barrier 210 such as a cubicle wall,and oriented to direct the air curtain 200 upward toward the return port150 positioned in the ceiling. In an embodiment, adjacently locatedvents 130 and return ports 150 can be positioned at both the ceiling andfloor such that a dual up/down-flow barrier is formed by dual aircurtains 200 flowing in opposing directions. Embodiments of dual aircurtains having co-flow configurations, e.g., where adjacent ventsdeliver a plurality of airflows creating a plurality of air curtainsextending between the vent 130 and the return port 150.

The vent 130 can be configured to accelerate the airflow passingtherethrough. For example, the vent can include a converging section, adiverging section, or a combination thereof. The converging section canbe used to accelerate the airflow and focus the airflow into a smallerflow area.

A method of abating airborne contaminants can include operating theventilation device 110 to create an airflow therethrough. Directing theairflow from the ventilation device 110 to a vent 130 using an airsupply passage 120 to extend to one or more perimeters of a space to beisolated. The method can include accelerating the airflow through thevent 130 to create an air curtain 200 at the perimeters of the space tobe isolated. Furthermore, the method can include collecting at least aportion of the airflow exiting the vent 130 at the return port 150 andreturning it to the ventilation device 110 through the return airpassage 160. The method can further include filtering contaminants fromthe airflow within the ventilation device 110.

The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associatedwith measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipmentavailable at the time of filing the application.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentdisclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,element components, and/or groups thereof.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to anexemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents maybe substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made toadapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the presentdisclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof.Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated forcarrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosurewill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of abating airborne contaminationcomprising: operating an air mover of a ventilation apparatus to createan airflow through the ventilation apparatus; filtering an airbornecontaminant from the airflow in the ventilation apparatus; directing theairflow to a boundary of a plurality of spaces through a supply airpassage and a fluidly connected vent; accelerating the airflow throughthe vent to create an air curtain at the boundary between two or more ofthe plurality of spaces; receiving the airflow at a return port fluidlyconnected to the air mover by a return air passage; and directing theairflow through the return air passage to an inlet of the air mover. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring one or more spacesof the plurality of spaces for a presence of an animal and selectivelyoperating the air mover when the presence of the animal is detected inthe one or more spaces.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingselectively directing the airflow to one or more boundaries of the oneor more spaces where the presence of the animal is detected.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the animal is a human.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising directing the air curtain upward from the vent tothe return port.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising directingthe air curtain downward from vent to the return port.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising entraining in the air curtain airbornecontaminants generated by an occupant of the space.
 8. An airbornecontaminant abatement apparatus comprising: an air mover having an airmover inlet and an air mover outlet and configured to create an airflowwhen operating; a filter disposed in fluid communication with theairflow and configured to remove airborne contaminants therefrom; asupply air passage disposed in fluid communication with the air moveroutlet and a vent; the vent disposed along at least a portion of aboundary of a plurality of spaces to be occupied, wherein the vent isconfigured to accelerate the airflow passing therethrough to create anair curtain extending from the boundary; a return air passage configuredto receive the airflow at a return port and direct the airflow to theair mover inlet.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the boundary atleast partially surrounds at least one of the plurality of spaces. 10.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the air supply passage and the ventdefine a top cover of a wall of a cubicle, a retainer of the top coverof the wall of the cubicle, or both.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the air supply passage defines a retainer of a top cover of awall of a cubicle, and the vent defines a top cover of the wall of thecubicle.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the return port isdisposed centrally within a space of the plurality of spaces.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein the vent is vertically aligned with thereturn port.
 14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the vent comprises aplurality of vent openings configured to divide the airflow into two ormore adjacent air curtains.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein thetwo or more adjacent air curtains extend parallel to one another.
 16. Amethod of configuring a space for temporary occupancy comprising:providing a ventilation device in fluid communication with a space to beoccupied, wherein the ventilation device comprises a contaminant filterfor filtering contaminants from an airflow passing therethrough;disposing a vent at least partially along a border of the space to beoccupied; arranging an air supply passage in fluid communication with anair outlet of the ventilation device and the vent; disposing a returnport a distance away from the vent, wherein the return port isconfigured for receiving the airflow from the vent; arranging a returnair passage in fluid communication with the return port and with an airinlet of the ventilation device; and operating the ventilation device tocreate an air curtain from the airflow, wherein the air curtain extendsbetween the vent and the return port along at least a portion of theboundary.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising detecting apresence of an occupant in the space to be occupied and selectivelyoperating the ventilation device when the presence of the occupant inthe space to be occupied is detected.